


Too Late

by unspeakable3



Series: welcome to the most noble and ancient house of black [6]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Black Family-centric (Harry Potter), Ficlet, Ficlet Collection, Gen, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), POV Regulus Black, Regulus Black Feels, Regulus Black-centric, The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2020-05-16 18:05:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19323331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unspeakable3/pseuds/unspeakable3





	Too Late

**Summer 1975  
**

“What do you want, Reg?” Sirius sighed, eyes fixed to the ceiling.

Regulus shuffled inside the room and softly closed the door behind him. He fiddled nervously with the cuffs of his shirt sleeves, frowning and pulling at a loose thread as he wondered whether he would ever be able to muster up the courage to tell Sirius what he _really_ wanted to say.

“I wish you wouldn’t provoke them so,” he said quietly.

Sirius groaned and sat up on his bed, running his fingers through his long tangled hair.

“Can’t you just keep it all in or something until we go back to school? It’s only a couple more weeks, and then it’s not so long until you come of age and then you can leave nicely, _normally_ , and everything will be alright.”

“Keep it all in?” Sirius repeated, raising his voice. “ _Keep it all in_? Are you as stupid as those morons you hang out with, Reg? How am I meant to _keep it all in_ when mum’s spouting off about fucking blood-traitors and mudbloods and scummy whelps or whatever bullshit terms she’s spent the day thinking up. You know she’s talking about your cousin, right? Your _family_?”

“Andromeda —”

“ _Don’t_ say her name! Don’t you _dare_ say her name when you have done _nothing_ to defend her!”

He was standing up now, walking towards Regulus, and then he was shaking his shoulders and shouting in his face and he was _just like mother_ and Regulus felt his insides shrivel and all those clever words that he’d rehearsed saying just floated out of him like dust motes and he’d never be able to catch them again, he’d never be able to make Sirius just _stop_ and _listen_ he was hurtling along like a Gringott’s cart and he was going to fall out and smash his head open on a rock and bleed out everywhere and it would be too late. It was already too late.


End file.
